Calf weaner



H. F. vANclK CALF WEANER Nov. 20,1951

Filed Aug. 26, 1949 Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES FATSENT OFFICE CALF WEANER Henry F, Vancik, Grandview, Wash.

Application August 26, 1949, Serial No. 112,566

Claims. (01. 119-134) This invention relates to a novel calf weaner of extremely simple construction which may be readily applied to and supported on the nose of a calf in front of the calfs mouth to allow the calf to suck at a calf nipple pail or eat from a feed box with the calf weaner attached but which will eifectively prevent the calf from sucking its mother or another animal.

Still a further objectof the invention is to :pro-

vide a calf weaner which is extremely effective for accomplishing its intended result yet which is safe for use and sufiiciently light in weight so it will not injure or hinder a calf other than as previously described.

Still a further and extremely important object of the present invention is to provide a calf w aner which is adjustable for fitting the cartilage between the nostrils so that the weaner may be efiectively retained in an applied position without yieldably pressing against the dividing cartilage of thenose vand causing discomfort to the calf and so that the weaner may swing relatively to the nose and will be normally-disposed in .a depending position in front of the mouth but will swing away from the mouth to enable the calf to readily eat from a feed box or drink with its head in a vdepending position.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is anedge elevational view showing the calf weaner in an applied position;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the calf weaner on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the calf weaner.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the novel calf weaner in its entirety is designated generally 5 and is formed from a single strand of relatively heavy gauge wire the intermediate portion of which is bent to form an elongated loop 6 which is open at its upper end. The corresponding end portions of the strand forming the calf weaner 5 include portions 1 which extend outwardly in opposite directions from the upper open end of the loop 6 and which are turned upwardly and back upon themselves to extend toward one another as seen at 8 and which terminate in upwardly turned back portions 9 which are spaced from one another, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described. The terminal portion or ends of the strand extend outwardly from the turned back portions 9 to provide complementary inwardly opening substantially U-shaped portions in which are disposed around the outer sides of the complementary inwardly opening substantially U-shaped inner portions '5, 8. Said portions It! terminate adjacent the outer sides of the open end of the elongated loop 5 and have complementary outturned terminals which project substantially perpendicular from the plane of the calf weaner 5 and which form corresponding prongs I, The prongs II are provided intermediate of their ends with substantially aligned openings l2 for receiving a cotter pin i3 which extends loosely therethrough.

The complementary portions l, 8 and Ill form outwardly bowed inwardly opening jaws having opposed, spaced rounded terminal portions 9 which are adapted to be inserted one into each nostril M of a calf, as illustrated in Figure 1, and the head of which is illustrated and desig nated l5. The nostril engaging free ends 9 of said jaws extend into the nostrils I 4 and are disposed in opposed relationship, one on either side of the cartilage or central wall of the nose which separates the nostrils I l. The calf weaner 5 is thus applied to the nose of the calf, as illustrated in Figure 1, either with the cotter pin l3 removed or loosened, after which the upwardly converging legs of the loop 6 are grasped with either hand and pressure applied thereto for displacing the legs toward one another for thereby displacing the rounded nostril engaging portions toward one another and into a position so that while not pressing tightly against the central nose cartilage will be disposed .sufiioiently close to one another to prevent the calf weaner 5 from being disengaged from the nose of the calf. While thus held, the terminals [6 of the cotter pin 12 are spread in a conventional manner so that the prongs H, which form extensions of the jaws, may not move apart and so that the nostril engaging portions 9 will thus. be retained in properly space-d, applied positions. It will thus be readily seen that the calf weaner 5 will not exert a pressure against the cartilage of the nose so that the nostril engaging portions 9 may turn in the nostrils it thereby causing the calf weaner to normally assume a depending,

substantially perpendicular position as seen in Figure 1 and so that the elongated loop 6 will be disposed beneath and in front of the mouth l? of the calf. It will be readily apparent that the calf weaner 5 will effectively prevent the calf from sucking its mother or another calf or animal since if the calf attempts to do this the outwardly projecting prongs II will be pressed against the other animal, causing it to move away from the calf carrying the weaner. However, the calf weaner 5 will not prevent the calf sucking a calf nipple pail or eating from a feed box or from grazing since when the calf lowers its head 15, to accomplish any one of these functions, it will be readily obvious that the calf weaner 5 will swing away from the mouth ll of the calf. It will likewise be readily apparent that the calf weaner may be quickly and easily removed by merely pressing the cotter pin ends l6 together and removing the cotter pin from the prongs H to allow the legs of the elongated loop and the nostril engaging portions 9 to spring outwardly and away from one another or to be spread outwardly and away from one another.

It will thus be apparent that the calf weaner 5 may be supported in the nose of a calf without pressing thereon so as to cause discomfort and to permit the calf weaner to swing freely relatively from the nose, toward and away from the calfs mouth so that the weaner will not interfere with the calfs eating, drinking or grazing in a correct manner but will merely function effectively to break the calf of the habit of sucking or nursing. It will also be apparent that the calf weaner 5 is relatively light in weight so that it will not be burdensome.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A calf weaner comprising a single strand of relatively heavy gauge wire having an elongated upwardly opening loop portion having corresponding upwardly extending ends, said loop defining the intermediate portion of said strand, a pair of corresponding outwardly bowed portions extending from the ends of the loop and disposed in inwardly opening, opposed relationship, said outwardly bowed portions each including an inner and an outer section, said outwardly bowed portions having rounded opposed free ends normally disposed in spaced relationship and forming corresponding nostril engaging members each adapted to engage a nostril of acalf, said strand having terminals extending outwardly from the plane of the loop and said outwardly bowed portions and disposed adjacent the junction of the ends of the elongated loop and said outwardly bowed portions, said calf weaner being adapted to be swingably suspended from the nose of a calf by said rounded, nostril engaging members to normally assume a depending, substantially perpendicular position in front of the calfs mouth, and said terminals forming prongs extending outwardly from the plane of the remainder of said calf weaner in a direction away from the calfs mouth.

2. A calf weaner as in claim 1, said nostril engaging members being adapted to be displaced toward one another into positions for retaining them in engagement with the calfs nostrils, and

means for releasably retaining the nostril engaging members in adjusted positions and against outward displacement with respect to one another, said prongs having aligned openings therein, and said means comprising a cotter pin extending through the prong openings.

3. A calf weaner formed from a single strand of wire and having outwardly bowed coplanar opposed loop portions disposed in normally spaced opposed relationship provided with corresponding normally spaced ends forming rounded nostril engaging portions each adapted to engage one of the nostrils of a calf, said strand including an elongated depending loop portion having ends merging integrally with the opposite ends of said opposed loop portions and adapted to be normally supported in a depending, substantially perpendicular position in front of the calfs mouth and for swinging movement toward and away from the mouth of the calf, the terminals of said strand projecting perpendicularly from the plane of the opposed loop portions in a direction away from the calfs mouth and being disposed adjacent the last mentioned ends of said opposed loop portions.

4. A calf weaner as in claim 3, said rounded nostril engaging portions being adapted to be manually displaced toward one another for retaining them in engagement with the nostrils, and means detachably connected to said terminals for releasably retaining the nostril engaging portions in adjusted positions.

5. A calf weaner as in claim 3, said rounded nostril engaging portions being adapted to be manually displaced toward one another for retaining them in engagement with the nostrils, and means for releasably retaining the nostril engaging portions in adjusted positions, said means comprising a cotter pin extending through spaced portions of the strand for holding said portions against outward displacement relatively to one another.

HENRY F. VANCIK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 572,339 Disrud Dec. 1, 1896 610,944 Merry Sept. 20, 1898 1,284,558 Barney Nov. 12, 1918 1,490,393 Lee Apr. 15, 1924 

